John Gerstner Takes Flag to Flag Pro Modified Win at Citrus County Speedway
by Larry MacMillan
(Inverness, Fl. 6/1/03) Twenty Pro Modifieds made the trip to Citrus County Speedway Saturday night for their second appearance of the season and kicked off the evening of action with time trials. They were interrupted by Rick Hall’s blown engine on turn three and four that oiled down the racing groove, forcing the officials to run a couple of Hobby Stock heats to get the track back in high speed racing condition after the extensive cleanup.
Gary Southard locked on to the fast time with a 13.735 second run on the 3/8ths mile which was a bit faster than Dwayne Dempsey’s fast qualifying time last time out. Dempsey qualified with second fast time at 13.720 seconds on his second lap. Gerstner picked up third fast time and won the outside pole position on the pill draw for the start. Gerstner won the drag race to turn one and two and took the point over Dempsey who stayed in his tire tracks for 45 of the 50 laps before making a run at him which was unsuccessful. When the checkers flew after six caution flags John Gerstner took the win over Dwayne Dempsey by inches at the line. Fast qualifier Gary Southard held out in third for the entire race but Jeremy Gerstner put the pressure on for the final 10 laps but had to settle for fourth with Chris Fadling rounding out the top five.
In other action 14 Sportsman followed Mark Dominique for the entire 20 laps with only two cautions coming out. Mark was able to put some distance on the rest of the field right to the checkers and his first win of the season. Mike Bell managed to move from his eleventh starting spot to finish second ahead of outside pole sitter Chris Cross, four-time champion Mike Veltman and Johnny Sanders. Heat wins went to Dominique and John Chance.
Eighteen of twenty Street Stocks went to battle in their 20-lap feature event and Travis Nichols came off the pole, giving notice to the rest of the field, “if you got it, come and get me!” No one had it but James Green Jr. made his way from 12th to second and was closing on the leader when he ran out of laps before the checkers flew. Danny Cretty moved from 13th to third followed by 16th starter Ernie Reed and Melvin Farmer who started sixth. Nichols and Cretty picked up the heat wins.
The Mini Stock field has really fallen off over the past month and only nine cars took the green. George Neumann managed to take the point from his fifth starting spot at about lap 8 of their 20-lap main, denying point leader Chris Thornton his second win in a row. Phillip Joyner was showing a lot of muscle throughout the race but had to settle for third over Dustin DesChamp and Chris Hooker. Neumann and Joyner picked up the heat wins.
Twenty-two Hobby Stocks took the green flag and Sport Wilson again proved that starting at the back of the pack is no hill for a climber. It took him 12 laps to move to the point for his fifth win of the season. Defending champion Richie Smith was in hot pursuit at the flag to no avail. Roy Perkins held an early lead but fell back to third when the racing was all over. Dean Lawyer outran Curtis Neumann in the race for fourth. Heat winners were Alvin Williamson, Roy Perkins and Wilson.
Pat Quick started at the rear of the Thunder Stock pack and outran the 20–car field for her third consecutive win and sixth overall. That accomplishment put the question to the track officials to follow the rule of a complete tear down to see if she had something other than a perfect setup and the driving skill to make her the dominant force in the division. Tech inspector Don Cretty spent three hours going over the engine and race car and came up empty so the win stands and Pat put some more cushion in her point lead. Jared Kessler has consistently been showing some muscle in the division and just didn’t have enough for Quick for a second place finish over Louie Cioe, Wayne Heater and Mike Dubbs. Heat wins went to Lee Keller and Tim Wilson.
Next week Citrus County Speedway will play host to the second leg of the Powell Memorial which is now a two day affair opening at Ocala on Friday night. Day two will wrap up at Citrus with a 150 lap main event for $5,000 to win. It should bring in the best of the best in Florida. Sportsman, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Thunder Stocks will round out a full night of racing.
Citrus County Speedway Results 5/31/03 Pro Modified Feature – 50 Laps – 18 Cars
1. #77 John Gerstner
2. # 6 Dwayne Dempsey
3. #39 Gary Southard
4. #70 Jeremy Gerstner
5. #29 Chris Fadling
6. #96 Robert Ray
7. #56 Kevin Durden
8. # 7 Darren Jackson
9. #34 Mark Emberson
10,#79 Mike Wilson
11.#06 Greg Nordstrom
12.#19 Mike Johnson
13.#01 J.F. McLellan
14.# 1 John Foerg
15.#14 Mike Bennett
16.#28 Buddy Kessler
17.#32 Alan McAfferty
18.#07 Larry Martin
19.#33 Scott Grossenbacher (Did Not Start)
20.#15 Rick Hall (Blew in Qualifying)
21.#99? Did Not Qualify or Start Feature
Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps – 14 Cars 1. #7 Mark Dominique
2. #17 Mike Bell
3. # 3 Chris Cross
4. #55 Mike Veltman
5. #36 Johnny Sanders
1st Heat Winner - #7 Mark Dominique
2nd Heat Winner - #96 John Chance
Street Stock Feature – 20 Laps - 19 Cars 1. # 2 Travis Nichols
2. #53 James Green Jr.
3. #01 Danny Cretty
4. #55 Ernie Reed
5. #69 Melvin Farmer
1st Heat Winner - #2 Travis Nichols
2nd Heat Winner - #01 Danny Cretty
Mini Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 9 Cars 1. # 3 George Neumann
2. #24 Chris Thornton
3. #86 Phillip Joyner
4. #51 Dustin DesChamps
5. #1x Chris Hooker
1st Heat Winner - #3 George Neumann
2nd Heat Winner - #86 Phillip Joyner
Hobby Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 22 Cars 1. #94 Sport Wilson
2. #42 Richie Smith
3. #07 Roy Perkins
4. #19 Dean Lawyer
5. #01 Curtis Neumann
1st Heat Winner - #09 Alvin Williamson
2nd Heat Winner - #07 Roy Perkins
3rd Heat Winner - #94 Sport Wilson
Thunder Stock Feature – 20 Laps – 20 Cars 1. #55 Pat Quick
